Thursday, August 16, 2012

(un)stable observations

All week it has been more than 100 degrees at 5pm. I would like to ride my horse but am not motivated enough. I could get to the barn at 5 in the morning and try to ride before work, but I'm not that dedicated either. I COULD ride in the heat, but I don't need to. No training, no schedule, plenty of excuses. And Major doesn't care as long as he gets out, so Major and I just meander down the road, he finds some crabgrass to eat and is happy.

And my hot and fried brain pondered life. Or just horse and stable (or unstable?) random observations:

• The fields are filled with dragonflies. I saved one from drowning in the water trough. Good karma.

• Hoof trimming appointment this week was at 11:30, so I can go on my lunch break. And come back to an important meeting sweaty and slightly dirty. I cannot go to the barn without getting dirty, like a dirt magnet. Another woman at the barn always looks crisp and cool. And wears a white shirt, that isn't filthy. How?

• There are lots of oak galls this year, more than I have noticed before. Maybe the little wasps had a good year. Gall wasps are amazing, including scientists not really knowing how the gall is formed, and parthenogenesis! (Don't need no boys around, these girls are doing it for themselves) Tough chicks.

• Even Bonny kitty is hot. She was too comfy to get out of the cool grass for a pet.

look at this ridiculous forelock

Why the long face? Major thinks: this is not my good side, and my nose is dirty.

how pitiful is that?

• Major has a total Donald Trump comb-over thing going on with his wimpy
forelock. It's gotten pretty long, but not full. Maybe I can just
double it back on itself, maybe some gel would help. Mousse? Styling creme?

• My friend sent me this sweet card, with a lovely quote: "We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we can find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson

• Earlier in the week I put on a pair of shorts from the not-dirty-enough pile. I wore them awhile at home, then felt something in the pocket. Week-old horse treats. (Good thing it wasn't carrots.)

• When it is too hot, Z pizza to the rescue. Curry Chicken rustica, awesome.

• One night the clouds came in, making it humid, but lovely.

• I have 8 hours of meetings today in an 8-hour workday. About half of which I'm just there as a figurehead for my department. Insane.

• I looked down at my ankle, and thought "I have scratches."
(It was mosquito bites). What other horse ailments could I diagnose
myself with?

• By tomorrow I won't be able to take it anymore. I AM riding my horse, come heat or high water. More likely water: we'll go down to the lake. And I seriously want to do a moonlight ride...next full moon is August 31. I'll think about that during the meetings...

Carrots just get black, shriveled, and slightly moldy. Not as bad as you'd think. Ask me how I know.

All parasitic wasps are fascinating. Have you read Parasite Rex? I bet you'd love it!

When I was slowly & painfully jogging on the beach earlier this week, I was focused on the footsteps in the wet sand I was following, because anything was better than thinking about my legs/lungs/heart/etc. The guy? I was following struck off harder on his right foot, and I caught myself thinking that he needed dressage to help improve his imbalances.